Varma v/s Sippy

There seems to be a legal battle brewing between Ram Gopal Varma and the Sippyís, the original holders of the rights to the classic, Sholay. Itís no secret that Ram Gopal Varma intends to make a modern day Sholay. However, it looks like he made his plans too soon. The Sippys have denied the fact that Varma has the rights to remake the movie. They are ready to go to court to prevent the film being remade by Varma.

GP Sippy, producer of the classic claims that his grandsons Shaan and Sasha have the rights. According to the grapevine, a few years ago the duo had approached Varma to make a sequel to the original, but Varma had declined. He wished to make a modern version of the film, which the Sippyís didnít want. They later approached Varma with a deal according to which they would produce it and Varma would be the director. However, Varma didnít give them an answer. And now all of a sudden, Varma has announced to the world that he intends to make the film.

However sources from the Varma camp justify their stand by saying that they had obtained the rights frm GP Sippy some time back, and that they will go ahead with the project.